Vehicles such as minivans and large trucks often have removable utility seats in rear compartments which are secured to latch rods on a vehicle floor pan. The seats are removable for allowing storage of cargo in the place of the seat. Such utility seat assemblies are generally provided with a wheel to facilitate rolling of the seat assembly for removal or reattachment of the seat assembly in the vehicle.
It is sometimes desirable to have the capability of collapsing the rear utility seat forward to increase the cargo space in the extreme rear portion of the vehicle. However, when the utility seat assembly is collapsed forward, it is necessary that the seat assembly be properly locked to the floor pan to prevent bouncing of the collapsed seat in the vehicle.
Such removable utility seat assemblies are typically cumbersome and difficult to handle. Because of the bulkiness and weight of the assembly, it is desirable that latching mechanisms be provided for securing the seat assembly to the floor pan in a manner which is easy to handle and repeatable without unwanted disengagement. It is further desirable to provide a latching mechanism for the front portion of the seat assembly which cooperates with the wheel and with the floor pan for automatically locking and unlocking the front portion of the seat assembly to the floor pan as the seat assembly is pivoted between collapsed and use positions.
Accordingly, it is desirable that the seat assembly be automatically locked to the floor pan when in the collapsed position, and that the seat assembly be automatically unlocked for free-wheeling movement when in the upright position to facilitate rolling of the assembly over the floor pan when the rear seat latch is unlatched.